Ward
by Ships-R-Us
Summary: Howl's first task as a member of the White Lotus was to venture down into the cold South Pole, where he expected to find a quiet and peaceful Avatar. Instead, his vows and lessons become tested with meeting Korra and becoming a guardian over her...
1. Vows and Charges

He was not sure what to expect, never meeting a human who was yet a spiritual being before. Reports had been vague, focusing on her experience as a bender and how she had been lacking in maturing in the more mystical elements. A strong worker of the four elements, was the summary of each report, but no solid connection with her past lives. Yet, Howl still held the image of a wise fifteen year old girl; reserved and speaking only once and a while.

"Did you see that? I totally smoked his novice ass!" It had only been twenty minutes since he was moved off of the steel boat and all of Howl's assumptions were proved wrong. The Avatar was a short, muscled child and was covered in soot, smelling of smoke and sweat. There was a light snow, the training field empty other than Korra, Howl and his superior and the Fire-Bending novice the Avatar seemed to take a large amount of anger on.

Buildings surrounded the encampment where the Avatar trained, some larger than others yet all were modest wood with fur covering windows and doors. Howl was cold, tempted to shove his gloved hands into his armpits, but with his trainer next to him and lessons strict he remained with palms at his sides. A large wall cut off the town-like training area, large with ice made gates. He wanted nothing more than to ditch spending his time watching the Avatar, no matter what honor it held, and return to the Southern Isles of the Fire Nation. Home. The women there wore thin silk dresses in the summer, darker underclothing visible when sweat drenched their skin.

No amount of training could stop Howl from having the sexual desires of a twenty four man, though he had learned to keep obvious desires hidden underneath layers of clothing. He doubted the troubles of exposed flesh would concern him, however, in this barren wasteland of snow and ice. Every woman he chanced upon was married or over fifty and all wore heavy leathers and furs. The lightest clothing was worn by Avatar Korra, thin wool layers that were drenched in sweat and soot stains.

She was a fifteen year old girl, however and the bounce of her chest that drew his eyes only made Howl feel sick and perverted. He focused on a barren of snow instead of the sweaty and small girl.

"Howl." The word made him look up, glancing sideways to his master with a slight frown. His trainer was older, smokey gray hair going to a blinding white and he held a wooden cane that was leaned upon heavily. Howl nodded once and went back to focusing on Korra, ignoring the way her breasts moved through the worn leather chest plate. "My pupil will be watching your rooms from two thirty to five, Avatar Korra." The master winced and shifted his weight to lean closer to Korra, a smile on his wrinkled face. "To make sure that you do not run off anymore, aye?"

An easy laugh came from darkened pink lips as Korra gave a bow to Howl, lowering her head to him with a smile. "I doubt he could keep me in this place if he wanted to, Master Ian, but he can try." Howl balked at the insult, mouth opening to tell the small girl off. Ian rested his hand on Howl's arm, a brief contact to make the young solider remember his vows and peace. "You must know me already, but what is your name again?"  
"Howl," it was a tense and bitten off word. His orders were not to talk to her more than she addressed him, to keep her safe and more importantly, keep her _home_.

Master Ian spoke quietly. "He will watch you and protect you, Avatar. You are free to keep him out of your rooms." In fact, it was made clear to Howl on his shipment over to the Southern Pole that he was to not enter her rooms at any time. As if he was some deviant who would bend this pompous, large-chested child over her bed and fuck her. The Master bowed to the Avatar, Howl bowed to the Master and soon enough the old man had left.

"Shall you retire to your chambers before your next lesson, Avatar Korra?" He could feel the stiffness set in, the mask he wore every second of the day since the leaving of his home. With a nod, the shorter girl set off into the snow and Howl followed suit.

Her rooms were located in the largest structure, fur covered door moving to the side as Korra moved through the building with a sway of hips and causal greetings to those passing. Howl walked with tense legs behind her, trying to focus on anything other than the movement of her hips. He repeated the vows in his head, eyes unfocused as he subconsciously took in the new surroundings that was to be called his home.

The Avatar's door was wooden, thin timber used to hold the child away from the pressing concerns of the world. Korra opened it, turning and raising an eyebrow to Howl. She was smiling again, un-shy and unknowing of her body.

"I would invite you in, but these are my chambers and I am in need of a bath so..." Korra turned to her room and shut the door behind her. Howl was cut off from his charge with the quiet click of a lock.

He was unable to say he was totally sorry for the loss.

Minutes dragged out, his eyes glazing over after catching every knot in the wood surroundings and the quiet creaks of cold shifting the building. Howl stood like a statue, air escaping his nose in smokey streams as he wished to be someplace other than watching a child's door. From what Master Ian told him, there was little concern of Korra being attacked by anyone, she _had_ ran off a few times before and sent the encampment into a flurry.

_Fifteen years of training and this is the first task I am set to. _He was tempted to scowl and cross his arms but fifteen, almost sixteen, years of enforcing and discipline stopped him from behaving like a moody brat.

From the Avatar's chambers, Howl heard the splashes of water in a bathtub and his frown deepened. There was two temptations in that room, he decided, one much more forbidden than the other. The White Lotus solider could feel the water singing out to him, almost touch and bend the flexible and easy movements of a gentle liquid. Howl shook his head, a stiff movement even then, and moved his hands into fists. He doubted bending the familiar water would be allowed, especially if the Avatar was splashing around in it.

The South Pole was composed of ice and freezing water, something Howl had never been faced with before. Though it was his element to bend, he was tempted to never touch the hard compacted water; the songs ice sung where too low and fierce for him, compared to the easy and joyful squealing of the waters of home. _Home_. Howl wanted to be back there, melting in the sun and letting the tense muscles relax.

He stiffened and stood stock straight, eyes glancing back and forth thought it was his ears which strained. There was a new noise from the usual creaks and soft splashes of water, a quiet and sharp gasp that emerged from the Avatar's chambers. His hand went to the doorknob before he shook himself, figuring Korra stubbed her toe in the tub or was facing the cold air from hot waters. Howl's eyes shut briefly, the thought of the Avatar's nipples rising in the cold and her thighs trembling forcing his eyes to open again with a snap. He tightened his fists to the point of pain, wanting to hit something or slam his head into the wall before any other images arose.

The noise came again from Korra's room, a soft moan that reminded Howl of a more quiet version of the sound women made when he was inside of them. His eyebrows came together, teeth gritting as he shook his head, wanting to shake himself. When he heard the Avatar give a breathy gasp, Howl put his fist to the door in a polite and restrained knock.

"Avatar Korra, are you faring well in there?"

She yelped through the door, water splashing as Howl could clearly hear the Avatar hit the floor with a pained cry. His hand was on the doorknob, close to turning the cool metal thing and invading Korra's chambers to make sure she was not choking or being strangled or hurting herself on wooden floors.

"I-... I'm fine, Howl! Please just stay out there, I'll be out for my next lesson in a few minutes!" He could hear the shuffling of bare feet across wooden floors, drawers opening and slamming shut as the Avatar murmured underneath her breath.

Outside of her door, Howl stood straight with a worried look in his eyes. He bit down on his lip briefly, figuring that Korra was exploring her body as most teenagers did. _But why the fuck do I have to be here to hear? _The solider signed and wished again, as he felt he would be wishing more often than not, to be home.


	2. Relief and Worsening

Howl was close to slamming his door shut by the time he was allowed to retire, anger pulsing through him like another heartbeat. The chambers were modest, a threadbare red rug, iron bed frame with worn sheets and a woolen blanket. He had a drawer, filled with uniforms in his size, a smudged mirror on top and an empty basin meant to hold water. Luckily, he had the room to himself without another brother to share.

The White Lotus solider stood in front of his smudged mirror, removing the cloth helmet that marked him belonging to the Order first, setting it aside for tomorrow. His shoulder pads came next, the usual weight lifting with a relief. Howl looked down at himself, the blue and white robes marked with melted snow.

"You cannot go home," he whispered to himself in the mirror when his black eyes met the pale flesh of his face. "You have taken vows, you belong to the Order and to your duty. The Avatar is a teenager girl. A _**child**_." It did not stop his manhood from twitching at the detailed memory of Korra's noises through the door. Howl threw his robes to the floor, anger flashing through him as his body gladly joined hands with his brain to betray him.

He sat on the edge of the cold bed, shutting his eyes briefly and shrugging away the robes to allow his pale chest to kiss the cool air around him. Howl closed the black eyes from the world, hoping to see nothing and hear nothing and think of anything but Korra's body. Confused and disgusted with himself, he laid back onto the bed and ignored his member pressing against the wool pants.

There was a tap on the shuttered window, glass protected from the inside with wood and covered in pelts of some creature on either side. Howl's eyes flicked open, legs hesitant to move as he stood and ran a hand through brown hair, fingers stopping at tangles and both hands knotting together at the back of his neck. The solider stood for a few seconds, blinking in the dark before lumbering to his window. Sleep clogged his brain but not his ears, there were no sounds of his brothers moving in the boarding house around him. _Meaning it is time to sleep. Why am I not asleep?_

Long and pale fingers grabbed the pelt, pulling it aside and throwing out the shutters to reveal a virgin full moon shining with stars to halo it and the bright blue eyes of a virgin who waited underneath his window. Howl frowned, looking down at the small blushing girl through the glass with as much distrust and adult-disdain he could muster.

"Open the window, Howl!" She made whispers a command, those eyes shining and looking up to him. His frown deepened, her smile grew and she tapped the glass again. "Come on, it is so cold out here, I may freeze. Where would you be if I froze to death?" Howl sighed, regretting his actions even as his fingers unlocked the window and pushed it up.

"You have enough fire inside of you to live a few hours, Avatar. Why are you here?" Korra looked to Howl's bare chest and shrugged, putting her hands on the windowsill and pushing herself up with a grace and ease that made his mouth twitch to a smile. _She's strong, and well aware of it. _As the Avatar climbed into his room as though she was born to do it, her body brushed against Howl's, her face briefly against the skin of his chest while he moved back.

The back of his knees hit the bed and Howl was forced to tell himself that he was acting afraid of a child, that if he wanted, he could tell her to leave and have that be the end of it. The White Lotus solider crossed his arms and looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I figured that you would," she stepped forward and he had to fight down the urge to step away from her. There was no other place to go, his knees on the bed as Korra moved within touching distance of him again. "Be much more interesting than my rooms." Howl looked down at the Avatar the closer she came, the small girl only reached to the nipples of his chest.

"Well, you were mistaken. You should be back in your bed, sleeping about-" She was not listening to him, lips opening as her head dipped forward and caught the cold flesh of Howl's chest in her teeth. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He could have yelled for help then, and perhaps he should have when the Avatar's hard white teeth came to meet his white skin with a jab of pain.

"You have a bed as well," her lips were moving against his chest, a small smear of blood as Korra's mouth went around Howl's dark pink nipple. He found himself stiffening, muscles tightening while his member came between him and the teenager with a perk. "I could always just spend the night with you." She kissed the hardened flesh on his chest, lips moving around while her face brushed against the fine hair of his chest. Howl reddened, grabbing the Avatar's upper arms and holding her away from him.

The eyes drew him in more than anything, bright pale blue shining with thick black eyelashes around them. Her mouth was open, the corners of her lips pulled up into a smile and a dark red blush on her cheeks. Howl remembered that she was a child, even with a large chest that was heaving, he had taken vows and he was her guardian and she his ward.

"You shouldn't be here." He pushed her away, moving across the room in quick strides and resting his back against the dresser. "Avatar Korra, go back to your rooms." His member throbbed at the thought of her leaving his room, a promise of pain if he did not find some type of release. "_Go_."

"No." Korra remained where she was, opened window breathing cold air into the room as she made to step forward to Howl again.

Her step became a half-step when the White Lotus solider forgot his vows and pushed away any other thoughts, focusing on the Avatar's hips as one arm reached around her. He silenced any words that she may have said with a push of his lips to hers, one hand going to hold the back of her neck while the hand around her waist squeezed at her bottom's flesh. Korra gasped and went still, allowing Howl to feel her heartbeat against his chest like a thundering drum.

His hands went to the ties of Korra's pants, pulling the strands open and pulling the thick blue wool down in a swift movement. Howl pushed her against the bed, and when her knees hit as his did before, the older man picked the Avatar up and deposited the bender of three elements to his sheets in an ungraceful manner.

There she sat, fur boots still on while a pair of thin lace looking underwear was the only barrier between the warmth and wetness of her, and the throbbing member that Howl supported between his legs. Korra looked to him, blue eyes shining with the dark of lust while her body was illuminated with the light of the moon. Her hands were not shaking when she pulled away at her shirt, revealing nothing underneath but the heavy flesh of her breasts that trailed into her stomach.

"Should the boots come off?" She began to kick at them but stopped the second Howl rested his large hands on her shins. He shook his head, leaning forward to kiss at the dark brown skin above the lining of her panties. His tongue dragged across her hipbone, hands moving to part her thighs and touch against the sweet and tender skin where her leg met with a curve to her mound. Howl could smell her, even with his nose pushed against rose-water smelling skin, he could feel the heat and raw scent of the Avatar's sex. His hands went to the middle of her panties, pushing aside the cloth protector and replacing it with the pale and rough flesh of his fingers.

She cried out then, a much louder noise than the sounds she made behind her bedroom door. The tip of Howl's finger moved through the layer of outer flesh, slipping into the crease of her and finding that she had become slick with arousal. He smiled, teeth biting into her hipbone to hear her yelp as his fingers found the swollen pearl of her womanhood.

Howl stood, ending any contact with the Avatar abruptly as his back straightened and his hands went to his own ties of the wool pants. His member, neglected in the ordeal, throbbed and dripped the liquids that came before his orgasm and sprung free one his trousers were on the floor. Korra was sitting up, her eyes on Howl's briefly before they went to his waist.

His hand went to her shoulder, pushing the Avatar to the bed again as he sat up above her. The tip of his cock brushed against the muscled flesh of her stomach, sending a wave of pleasure through him at the brief and gentle contact. Korra's mouth reached him, her eyes shut and her necked arched up to take him in.

Howl's arm went behind his body, fingers eager to reach the wet crease of her sex again, pushing and finding her pearl. He rubbed at the tender flesh, feeling her hips and legs jerk beneath his waist as the Avatar sucked him into her mouth. Her tongue went to his member, trying the hard flesh as her teeth touched and slid across the tender skin with a gentleness that still sent a shock through him. Howl gasped, finding the pleasure in the small stab of pain and ran his fingers down Korra's clitoris only to move up and rub roughly.

He could feel the familiar release, sweet and tense and amazing as ever, as Korra dragged her tongue against the head of his cock. Howl's free hand went to the back of the Avatar's head, fingers knotting in her ponytail and his hips jerking further in her mouth as he-

As he-

The first sounds of bells hit Howl's ears, and with a start the solider sat up and opened his black eyes. He could feel a sticky wetness on the inside of his pants, his member coated in the liquid of his manhood and soaked through the layers of clothing to the sheets. His face grew red, as it had when he was a teenage boy and dealt with the mess of his dreams on a regular basis.

"_Fuck_."

With the sounds of his brothers and masters moving about, Howl stripped the sheets and wrapped them together, throwing them into the empty corner of his room with his stained pants. There was a knock at his door, and the White Lotus solider was tempted to leave it closed and escape from out of the window. Instead, Howl removed a pair of pants from his dresser and stumbled into them while walking to the door.

"Master Ian." The old man smiled to his pupil and raised an eyebrow in a twitch to Howl. Remembering his manners, the younger man bowed steeply and gave a smile in return. "A pleasure to see you at this hour, is there something that needs my attending?"

Ian's smile wrinkled and his eyes shone with a certain joy. "Young Howl, why are you not dressed?" He shrugged away the question before Howl could answer with some excuse, hands tightening around his cane with veins pushing against his skin. "I have come to tell you that the sister who watched over our young Avatar has had other matter to attend to, much more pressing than a guard duty." The White Lotus master shrugged again, a simple gesture that explained nothing and ended the subject of the absent sister solider. "And I knew you would stand by your task and guard over the Avatar at _any_ time."

Howl's stomach flipped, the dream recent in his mind and still against his skin. He was tempted to beg Master Ian to not make him go, and like a child, cry for the older man to let Howl return home. Yet, while awake, he was a young man bound by oaths and charges and Howl only bowed stiffly to his master. "It would be my honor, sir."

"I knew it would be, I knew it would!" Giving Howl's bare shoulder a pat, Master Ian nodded and smiled again to reveal yellowing teeth. "You will be watching the young Avatar from... well now, until your previous time of leaving at five in the night. I am assured you have enough stamina to keep up with the child." Before the White Lotus solider could open his mouth in protest, though he would not on any occasion, the old Master Ian limped away with his weight heavily dependent on the cane.

Korra's guardian stood in the doorway to his room for a few more seconds, feeling as though his heart was refusing to beat until the cooling of his orgasm's liquids on his legs reminded him of pressing matters. Howl turned to his room, shut the door behind him and slammed his bare palm to the wooden door. The pain that shot through his nerves brought the Water-Bender down, for a brief amount of time, time enough for him to open the window's shutters and then the window.

A breeze moved the pelts back and forth, giving Howl glimpses of the light and barren world beyond. He did not focus on the outdoors and the sounds of his brothers and sister training in the yard, instead putting his energies to the frozen water that hummed around him. There was a solidness to the liquid, Howl decided as he could feel himself hold onto a space of water outside his window. With a carefulness, he made the water stream up, not knowing what it looked like from outside but feeling it enter his room from the open window.

He had half expected the water to be unrelenting, but his element bent and Howl let the cold water stream around his fingers and up the pale and quickly cooling flesh of his arms. The White Lotus solider almost laughed like a child, remembering the waters of his home and how bending them felt like playing with an old friend. Freeing water from one hand, moving the streams together in one freezing ball of element, Howl used the unladen hand to tug up the strings of his pants.

Naked to his knees, he shivered and went to the dresser to observe the paleness of his face. There was a light stubble across the sharp jawline and a darkening of his upper lip that marked the pitch black body hair Howl grew. Carefully, the Water-Bender moved his element with his hands and will, letting the frozen ice become a blade and brushing it against his skin. _I've done this before, no need to worry. I am in control and am flexible like the water I bend. _

It took him a few minutes, but Howl examined the end result with a touch of pride in his eyes. He was back to having no stubble or trace of hair on his face, something some men laughed at him for, but the White Lotus solider had always found it pesky and unwanted. _Just as the orgasm on my thighs. Oh spirits. Over a dream of the Avatar as well. A __**dream**__._

A spike of disgust of himself rose in Howl, he almost lost control of the water he bent when a growl left his lips. With quick movements, he pushed the water onto his thighs and cock, shutting his eyes and groaning lowly at the cold water. When it was done, Howl let the element into the basin, figuring he would throw it out once he was free from watching the Avatar. _All day. Her breasts bouncing and her smile all day. _The Water-Bender groaned again, eyes shutting as he opened his dresser and removed the White Lotus uniform.

"Howl! You're watching me? Cool. Are you going to talk today?" Korra opened her door when Howl knocked, dressed and stiff as the day before. She was wearing her outfit of furs and wools, fur boots same as the ones in his dream, hair bouncing in her ponytails. He looked down at her, unsmiling as the thought of his dream arose.

"I am directed to speak only when spoken to, Avatar Korra." His throat threatened to close when she reached forward, the wince in pain and embarrassment when she punched him lightly and Howl's member woke in his trousers.

"Well, that is going to have to change." She was all smiles, not seeming to notice how her guardian shifted on his feet and moved white and blue robes in front of his body.

"May I ask why, Avatar Korra?"

"You may, and because I have no lessons today! We're riding Naga out past the gates." Korra walked past Howl, leaving the helpless solider to look after her as he wondered what a 'Naga' was.


	3. Breaking and Leaving

Every night he dreamed of her; twisting limbs, heaving breasts and rose-water sweat as their love making became a haunt on Howl's dreams. Each morning he would wake to his orgasm sticking his sheets and thighs, the excuses running thin of sweating terribly and needing new bed covers. He wished to think of it as a nuisance, but as the days wore on to weeks, Howl had found the dreams to be an escape from thinking of his charge while in her presence.

His charge, who had not made a move to speak to him in the three days after she had learned his age. She would walk quickly from one training to the other, barely glancing up to Howl and only pursing her lips together if she did. The solider found himself hurt by her treatment, wanting to hear her laugh and see her smile again around him, and not from the distance of a training exercise.

"Tenzin is coming," the Avatar flew open her door after six days of ignoring Howl, her eyes joyful and clothes rumbled in her haste to dress. "He's coming from Republic City, and he'll have to take me back with him so I can learn Air-Bending." She was almost skipping, jumping around the halls like an excited child with a smile on her face, lips pulled open to show the whiteness of her teeth. "Don't you see, Howl? I can leave here soon enough. I'll get to go somewhere _new_."

He had already been struck into confusion by her return of speaking to him in the informal manner she did, and when the words that came from the familiar sight of her lips caught his ears, the solider was driven further into his unknowing. "Avatar Korra, that is..." Howl struggled for the word, thoughts on whether he would stay with her or move someplace else, how quickly would she be going and would she be watched over. "Excellent. An Avatar should know the four elements."

She hugged him, having Howl stumble into the wall behind him at the unexpected force, and Korra gave her guardian a tight squeeze. He felt the breath be taken from his lungs with a gasp, one arm going around the Avatar in an informal manner as Howl became aware of the heat of her body against his, the softness of her breasts through whatever layers she wore. "Perhaps you should hurry, to not miss him." Howl whispered, cheeks reddening to a slight pink as he put both arms around the short girl. He wanted to keep her there with him, to share in her joy and drink in the smile that warmed his heart. "Go on then, Avatar Korra, I will be right behind you."

Korra slipped from his arms, bounding down the halls and out into the snowy world with no care of who she passed and pushed by. Her only words of apology were yelps of "He's coming, Master Tenzin is coming!" Howl followed at a slower and much more polite haste, stepping into the snow with a familiar crunch of leather boots hitting compacted ice. The Avatar was already gone, training area empty as she raced for her polar-bear dog's stable. The White Lotus solider stood patiently, waiting only a few minutes before Naga came running to him with Korra straddling the beast's back.

"Avatar Korra-" His voice let out white puffs of air, the warmth leaving his body in the exhales. "I will remain here and wait for you to return." The words were gaunt and like barbed hooks on Howl's tongue; Korra would be accompanied by Water-Bending Master Katara in their wait for Tenzin. There was no need for a novice bender to protect the Avatar, or try to keep her at the studies.

His charge's smile faltered, dark pink lips slipping down into a frown for some brief seconds before she nodded. Her brown hair swished in the gesture, and Howl found himself wanting to bury his hands and knot his fingers in the strands. The solider straightened his back and tightened his lips, refusing to let himself dwell on anymore thoughts. _If anything, she will be leaving soon. And it is a good thing, she does not need me to babysit her anymore. It is a good thing. It is. It __**is**__._

"If you insist, Howl." Korra turned Naga away without another word, letting the polar-bear dog lead her through the snow in leaps. He was tempted to follow her, to keep watch on the young girl even though she did not need it. The thought made his chest tighten, and Howl turned away from the sight of Korra running to the gates and freedom. _She does not need you. _As he walked away, to his warmed room, Howl kept the words in his mind like a prayer.

The room felt small, wooden walls leaning against each other and the wooden ceiling pressing down to the floor. Howl removed his robes, his helm and his boots in quick movements before sitting down on his bed. A dark wool shirt rubbed against his chest as he sat, breath leaving and entering his lungs in gasps and sighs. The solider wondered what would be his next task, when the Avatar was gone from his life, and how he would manage to fix away all of his thoughts on her away. For good.

Howl laid against his bed, back fitting to the rough sheets as he gazed to wooden panels on the ceiling. His eyes drifted shut, images flickering behind eyelids, of his home in the Fire Nation and his home amongst brothers and sisters of the White Lotus. There were no thoughts of Korra, of what she would look like in his arms or-

"Howl, wake up." A hand took his knee, jostling the Water-Bender into a state of dazed thoughts and blurred vision. It had gotten dark in the hours of his sleep, dinner missed by the pangs of his stomach and lips cracking after not drinking. Howl rubbed at his eyes, sitting up to come face to face with the girl of his dreams.

He did not feel awake, the thoughts still muddied and eyes blinking slowly. She had tear tracks on her face, a glint of determination in the blue eyes that made Howl's heart contract, and open lips as she breathed in and out roughly. The solider said nothing, one hand going to the back of Korra's neck as he leaned in to her lips.

It was a spark; her lips were soft underneath his cracked ones, the skin on the back of her neck smooth and easy to hold with his larger hands. Howl felt a faint stab of worry, it had never felt so real and true and shocking in his dreams, and Korra-

The older man pulled away with a start, close to bringing his legs up as if it could protect the shuddering of his heart. "This isn't a dream," was all he could say at the sight of the Avatar leaning down with her eyes wide. She was blushing, the dark skin of her cheeks going to a blood color as she shook her head.

"Avatar Korra, I am so... My behavior was inexcusable and there is nothing I can say to make it better and-" Words left Howl's mouth at a rapid pace, eyes looking to the furred covered window in hopes that he could jump out and escape on thoughts alone. It was a surprise when Korra's smaller fingers brushed against the slight stubble of his chin and her lips met his again.

Howl lost track of time, of who he was and how old the girl on his lap was, with her lips against his in a soft and tentative push. She was nervous, fingers gripping the dark brown strands of his hair tightly while her hips wiggled against his. The solider became erect underneath the Avatar, causing the girl to give a surprised yelp and sending her darkened cheeks into a deeper flush. Her hips went down on his member, pushing against the swelling thing in a way that made Howl's breath catch and his eyes shut tightly.

"Korra..." He could smell her around him, different from the dreams, with the smell of sweat and brutal cold buried underneath the warmth of her. She had stilled in his lap, the lack of movement causing Howl's eyes to snap open. "What is wrong?" Arms tightened around the young woman, holding her lower stomach against his chest as he looked up to him. "Should... would you like me to stop?"

"You... Howl, you didn't call me 'Avatar Korra.' You have always called me 'Avatar'." Korra's voice trailed off and she smiled down to him, breasts shuddering as her heartbeat quickened. Howl went pink, hands drifting down to her waist and fingers knotting around the blue wool pants line.

"Would you like me to refer to your title, Ava-"

She kissed him again, lips pushing against his in a novice attack while her fingers pulled at his jaw, and Howl opened his mouth to the Avatar's softly probing tongue. He pushed Korra onto the bed, yanking down her blue pants in a swift and slightly jerking movement to expose chocolate skinned thighs and blue swirls on white cotton underwear.

It was innocent, to see the simple panties cloak the Avatar's mound and the way her legs quivered underneath Howl's gaze. He went down her body, hands gripping the sides of the young woman's pants and pulling them down with his movement. The boots, leather and soaked in melted snow, stayed on the Avatar's small feet.

"No, don't call me 'Avatar Korra', Howl. Please do not call me that..." Korra went quiet with her words, voice dropping into a whisper as the solider moved up, his chest against hers. Howl's hand went to cup her jaw gently, thumb moving across the dark pink skin of her lip. She looked like a teenage girl then, a teenage girl with a crush and it made him pause. The girl was so young, so very... "You are looking at me again, like you did when you met me."

"You are very young, Korra." Howl pressed against her, his member betraying him by laying against her thigh and giving a throb. "Spirits help me, I am losing everything that had... You are my charge, sweet girl, I am supposed to take _care_ of you."

The Avatar scowled at him, her slim and long fingers pulling at her heavy shirt and throwing it over her head to the floor. Her nose was crinkled, yet her face was not the thing Howl was observing, instead his dark eyes was drawn to the rising and falling breasts on the Avatar's chest. "Howl, do you think I am a child now?" Korra's voice was a near growl, mixed into an anxious whisper, as she pulled at the linen wrappings around her chest.

He did not remember how he removed his pants, revealing his hard cock that was covered in the beginnings of his orgasm. Her nipples were a dark red, rivaling the dark blush on her cheeks, and the soft skin of her large breasts were covered in goosebumps. Howl leaned down, dragging his tongue against the tender flesh of Korra's nipple, leaving the other breast untouched for the Avatar's sex.

"Korra, are you..." It was a silly question, when her legs opened and Howl pulled down the innocent panties to reveal the dark curls of her pubic hair, his breath caught and he buried his head into the curve of her neck. "Sweet..." Fingers trailed down her slit, opening her layers to hold her swollen clitoris to the warming air of Howl's bedroom.

She was tight and wet and feeling almost fragile when the tip of Howl's finger brushed against Korra's entrance. The Avatar was biting down into her lip, a slightly pained noise escaping with moans and low growls.

Howl lowered himself on top of her, starting to push into Korra while she began to cry out. His hand covered the Avatar's mouth in a quick movement and his hips creased to try to enter the small woman. "I am afraid that this is not a dream, love, and if you scream it will surely wake my brothers." She gave a slow nod, and Howl removed his large hand to the back of her neck, head dipping down to kiss at her jawline.

The movements were slow, Korra's tearing clearly painful with the young woman's deep moans and tense shoulders. He shuddered, hips thrusting deep into Korra in a quick shoving gesture as pleasure spiked in him. There would be blood, Howl knew, the virginity of his charge being ripped and torn away with each thrust.

"Sweetling, I am so very..." He reached, grabbing sheets and blankets in his hands and pleasure dipping away to ecstasy. "_**Sorry**_." She would cry out, and Howl's free hand went to Korra's mouth when she screamed and dug her teeth into his skin. Around his member Korra was contracting, a new and thicker wetness seeping around him, and he released into her.

They lay together, his leg between hers as Howl and Korra laid on their sides. She was pressed to his wall and the solider held her against him, hands between her back and the cold wood. Orgasm coated on Howl's limped member, the mixture of his and the Avatar's, while her thighs were a slicked, blood and white coated mess.

"Howl, there is a reason I came here," her voice was a quiet whisper in the dark and Howl opened his dark eyes to met her light blue ones. He nodded slowly, a slight daze on his mind while his arms tightened around her. "Tenzin... Tenzin won't take me with him. I am not staying here, Howl," she was speaking in a rush of words and whispers. "I am leaving on the next boat to Republic City."

Her guardian said nothing, arms tight around her while Howl struggled to say something, anything to her. His ward. Wanting to run away from home, to somewhere new with strangers. Howl said nothing for a few seconds, thinking of his own home and the people and Korra and his ward and his Avatar and-

"You should go. I won't be there to protect you, but I will _come_ for you, Korra. I will come and hold you against me again. If the Order lets me or not, you and I will be _together_." It sounded cheesy in his mouth, but Howl found himself meaning every whisper. She nodded, eyes shutting and hands going around his back with her nails digging slightly into his skin.

"You and I..." the Avatar spoke quietly before drifting off, most of the words lost to Howl before his own eyes shut out the image of Korra's sleeping face. He dreamed of nothing, vaguely aware of her in his arms and the thudding of her heart.

And then the thudding and warmth of Korra disappeared, cold air touching Howl's skin where she used to be. The solider opened his eyes, sitting up and rubbing away the sleep and trying to shed away the muddied thoughts.

She was gone, clothes removed from his bed and floor, and there was not even a dent of her body in his sheets. Howl's hand drifted to the space that would have been where she slept, feeling the cold blankets before he looked around his room. There was no hint of the Avatar, and there was no note when Howl stood to look for one.

"Korra?"

(end)


End file.
